50k Filipinos will die if the coal industry isn't stopped, NGO warns

GMA Network News
July 22, 2015 12:22pm

Group seeks end to PHL dependence on coal power. The Philippine Movement for climate Justice (PMCJ) in Quezon City on Tuesday, July 22, launched a million-signature campaign lobbying for an end to the country's dependence on coal. The move follows in the wake of the disastrous collapse of the Semirara coal mine in Antique on July 17, which killed nine workers. Analy Labor

Some 50,000 Filipinos will die within the next 25 years because of coal power plants unless we make the shift towards renewable energy, claims the Philippine Movement for Climate Justice (PMCJ), Power for People Campaign Network (P4P), and environmental advocates Edward Hagedorn and Gina Lopez.

According to them, the Department of Energy (DOE) continues to support coal investments, with the government approving 59 coal plants and 118 coal mining permits and another 15 coal power projects supposedly in the pipeline. In contrast, the rest of the world is working on shutting down coal power plants.

The group also cited research that shows that coal power plants threaten the health of civilians, causing coronary heart disease and stroke. And it’s not just health risks—the group points at the collapse of the Semirara coal mine that killed nine workers as a concrete example of the dangers that the coal industry poses.

“The government can no longer turn a blind eye to these mishaps. To play ignorant would be an insult to the Filipino people seeking justice and accountability from these exploitative corporations,” the group said.

The PMCJ is made up of more than 100 organizations representing different sectors that aim to put forward a “climate justice framework” to deal with the effects of climate change. — Bea Montenegro/TJD, GMA News

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